


(if) they stand in front of you, watch their back;

by Beanshiee



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: A lot of talking, Alcohol, F/M, Irina is confused, John is a bit drunk but it's for a greater good, a bit of violence but nothing big, a lot of sexual tension, also irina has no self preservation instinct in case someone didn't know, also sexual tension, and guess who has to help him, enemies to still enemies but complicated, jacob is just done with everything and everyone (but also thirsty), john is just wounded so Jacob has to take care of him, john is wounded but also thirsty, not even a single talk, nothing explicit just three dumbasses in one room, some harsh language because we all know neither of them are saints
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beanshiee/pseuds/Beanshiee
Summary: Irina just wanted to get some rest in the cabin in the woods.She didn't expect to see Jacob Seed, carrying his wounded little brother on his back.And didn't expect that she will have to help him by pinning his brother to the table.
Relationships: Deputy | Judge/Jacob Seed, Deputy | Judge/John Seed, Female Deputy | Judge & Jacob Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/Jacob Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/John Seed
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	(if) they stand in front of you, watch their back;

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a one-shot that I felt the need to write down because reasons. :)))
> 
> Also, I'm not a native English speaker and there were no beta readers involved, so I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes (and I bet that there are some, but please have mercy, English language has 16 GODDAMN TENSES AND I'M CONFUSED)

Irina had a weak spot for cabins in the heart of the woods. They were small, not exactly warm, but also very minimalistic - something she quite liked. There were many nights in her life before Hope County when she slept in her car. It wasn't the best, but definitely enough for her. Now she didn't have her car, but she would steal one from time to time. Peggies didn't learn about her car-sleeping preferences yet, so she was safe, to some extent at least. 

This night she didn't have a car to sleep in, though, so one of the cabins had to do. She chose the one that was still in the Whitetails, but also dangerously close to the Holland Valley - in case she needed to get away from the Mountains. The good thing was that Jacob was always kind enough - or, actually, _confident_ enough - to let her know that the hunt for has has begun, which gave her at least few minutes to find a safe spot. Not that it always worked. Sometimes hunters' arrows manage to find the way to her knee after just few seconds.

She always considered herself to be the worst resistance leader in the history of resistance leaders. And she didn't even want to get the job in the first place - the fact that she got it was just an example of how desperate the people in the County must have been. 

The first thing she did was checking if there is anything good inside the cabin, and by that she was thinking about cigarettes. Alcohol would do as well, but she wasn't that much fond of it. It was good to drink some when she was having a talk with Nick and Kim, or when Adelaide felt the need to share another one of her heated stories about Xander. This was something that Irina couldn't listen to while being sober, especially because she had no sexual experience whatsoever - so despite her prideful attitude, she felt really weird and uneasy when she had to listen to people talking about it.

 _"Hello there."_ Irina murmured with delight when she managed to find a half-empty and slightly sticky bottle of whiskey, a bit of oregano - she didn't need it, though - and two cigarettes. She put her bow on the wooden table in the center of the room and sat on the old and squeaky chair by the window, sighing quietly and hugging her knee to her chest. It was afternoon, and the dark clouds covering the sky for the last few dozen minutes finally began to release the first drops of cold rain. She just hoped it would end soon enough for her to get out. She couldn't stand sitting in one place for longer than an hour.

She took off her black, dirty jacket, leaving only a loose shirt, bloodied and torn to a point where it was nearly non-existant. She pulled out of her pocket the one thing that she couldn't move anywhere without - a lighter - and lit a first cigarette, putting it to her mouth and dragging it thoughtfully. As the first clouds of smoke were released from her lungs, the cabin door unceremoniously opened - with quite a lot of force, so it definitely couldn't be a wind, it didn't managed to get strong enough yet. Her instincts kicked in with a slight delay, and if it wasn't for the fact that the person who just came inside didn't want to kill her, Deputy realized that she propably would already have a hole between her eyes.  
  
... Wait, he _didn't_ want to kill her?

She was already accustomed to seeing Jacob, so each of their subsequent meetings no longer caused her to feel exaggerated emotions. This would also be the case this time, even though he had just entered the place where she intended to rest - were it not for a small detail - he had a traveling companion on his back. John lifted his head from his brother's shoulder, showing chaotic tousled black hair and poking his huge blue eyes on Irina, who was just two meters away, parting her lips slightly. Jacob tensed instantly, reaching with his hand to his thigh holster, while a woman was completely speechless and stared at the two brothers in disbelief, feeling her cigarette begin to burn out and dangerously approach her knuckles.  
  
_"Are you lost, or...?"_ She asked after a moment or two, blinking way too faster than she should. She saw in Jacob's eyes that he's calculating, gears in his head are turning furiously, and then his muscles seemed to relax a bit. John, on the other hand, seemed tense - and he was looking at her in a way that was far, far from comfortable. Irina felt like she was being devoured alive, and wasn't sure why it felt somehow amusing for her.  
  
_"Oh, for fuck's sake."_ Jacob finally spoke, then closed the door to the cabin by kicking them with his foot, and moved to the wooden table where she left her bow a few minutes before. He took it and placed it by the door, so if she wanted to get to it, she would have to get through him first. Well, she had a knife strapped to her leg, but Irina wasn't stupid enough to try and attack him. She tried once, it didn't go well. She wasn't a match for him. _"Get outta here, girl, before I change my mind and knock you out instead."  
_  
If Jacob would ask her to leave in a more polite way, she may have actually done it. But Jacob was Jacob - and Irina was Irina. Her pride and stubborness didn't allow her to just do his bidding, so of course, she decided to start another one of verbal fights with him, one that they shared many times already. And she never got bored with those. _But usually lost anyway._ It wasn't suprising that, in the current state of events, she just hugged her knee to herself with even more force, like if showing that she wasn't planning on moving anywhere, and took another drag of cigarette, before smashing in on the floor with her shoe. _"I was here first."_ She deadpaned. Jacob grunted in response, but she was sure that there was a hint of amusement in this sound. _"So get your little squirrel with you and go away."_

John scoffed when he heard his new nickname, and oh, if looks could kill. Irina send him a short, dry half-smile, that seemed somehow menacing when combined with a big scar on her left cheek. Jacob, on the other hand, shrugged a bit, giving his brother the signal to come off his shoulders, which the younger Seed did. _"Stop gambling your life, will ya?"_ Jacob looked at her one more time and wrinkled his nose slightly, seeing the extremely torn shirt she's been wearing, then took off his military jacket and tossed it at the woman. _"You're distracting my squirrel."_ He explained with a hint of amusement in his voice, then started to take care of John, who was still far from happy and sitting on the edge of the table.   
  
Irina accepted the little gift with a slight, cynical smile and swiftly put the jacket on. It was warm, which was actually pretty pleasant, and smelled of fire, resin, blood and gunpowder - nothing new to her. Irina rolled up the sleeves, which were far too long for her, and lit a second cigarette, watching Jacob unceremoniously rolling up John's soiled and bloody shirt out of the corner of her eye.  
  
she refrained from sighing with delight, noticing the blood and tattoos on the body of the younger brother. She was starting to understand Adelaide's fascination, but would absolutely never admit it out loud. Not to mention that for her John was still the most irritating being in the whole County. Pretty body wouldn't change it.

 _"So."_ She cleared her throat. _"Care to tell me what the fuck brought you in here?"_

 _"No."_ Was Jacob's harsh response when he saw that John was ready to start answering. _"Stay quiet, Dep. We both know you hate small talk and don't give a fuck about little anecdotes."_

 _"Oh? How can you possibly know that?"_ Irina asked just to push him a little bit, even though he was totally right. She really didn't like talking. Well, in most cases. This time she was actually a little bit interested.

 _"I managed to notice."_ He wasn't looking at her, focused on the wound on John's stomach. A bullet wound, no doubt, she realized, while slowly finishing the second cigarette. Damn, something interesting must've happened.

 _"Because I was always silent when you were telling me parts of your life story?"_   
  
_"I told you to shut up, didn't I?"_

This time Irina really did obey, but not without a quiet, irritated hiss. She turned her back on whatever Jacob was doing to John, but she definitely felt the eyes of the second one on her back, and it was driving her mad. She gritted her teeth and focused on looking at the window, trying to get fascinated by the race of two rain droplets that managed to catch her eye in this specific moment. Boring activity indeed, but it was far better than thinking about her current situation, which was far from what she hoped for on this day. She ran a hand through her forehead, then the mess on her head. She never really cared about her hair, so they were truly wild and untamed, pretty much like she was. She smiled a bit at that thought, but returned to her neutral, bored expression after a short second. It was quiet - the only sounds being the rain hitting the walls and windows of the cabin and rustle of fabric, where Jacob was trying to bring his little brother - _squirrel_ _,_ she reminded herself - back to shape.  
  
Then she heard a loud hiss, like if someone stomped their boot on a rattlesnake.

 _"Fucking hell, Jacob!"_ John growled, sticking his fingers into the edge of the table to the point that they started to turn white. Irina looked at him, head resting on the window frame, trying not to look as amused as she was right now. _"Wait, you don't have any antiseptic?"  
  
"Well it's not a luxury hospital, little brother, the best I can do is find some alcohol." _Jacob responded calmly, but with a bit of typical, brotherly mockery and shrugged, which definitely didn't brighten up John's mood.

_"Squirrel."_ Irina murmured under her breath, but loud enough for them to hear it. The look she got from John was sharp enough to cut through diamonds. Jacob growled and it was enough to silence her once again. She sighed, watching as Jacob started to rummage through various shelves, looking for someone good enough to treat John's wound with, but all he managed to find was a bit of oregano she noticed earlier and a pack of cigarettes. _Damn_ , she thought. How the hell she didn't notice this one? Her eyes glowed and she run a tongue over her lips. Jacob shot her a quick glare, smiled, in his own way, and tossed the cigarretes to the table on John's leg.

_"Fuck you man..."_ She sighed, barely audible. But the most important thing right now was that the soldier didn't manage to find what he was looking for. Oh, that's something she could use, but she didn't speak about it. Yet.

 _"No alcohol."_ Jacob looked at John, who clenched his jaw so hard she could almost feel it. _"Pretty fuckin' weird, considering that most of this county has a weak spot for it."_

 _"Oh, but there is a bottle."_ She said, finally, looking at him nonchalantly and swaying her legs like a little girl. _"Well, half of it, to be exact."  
  
" **Oh,** someone's been drinking?" _This time John spoke up, a bit strained, and instead of killing her with his stare he smiled viciously, then clicked his tongue. _"Tsk tsk."  
  
_ Jacob rolled his eyes, but didn't care enough to give a comment. _"Give it to me."_ He ordered in his typical, calm voice, but with a characteristical sharpness in his eyes.   
  
_"Not until you give me those cigarettes you found a second ago."_ It was a bold game to play with him, but she was determined to do so.

 _"You're in no position to bargain."_ He said, but realized a second too late that it wasn't the best choice of words, since it was him that needed something the most. _"Either you tell me where it is, or I will force you to. It's your call."_  
  
_"She would probably like that."_

Now it was her turn to shot John a murdering glare, and his to chuckle darkly, but she did her best not to start playing his game - she knew she would eventually lose. The most reasonable thing Irina could do right now would just tell Jacob where the whiskey is and stop bothering him, but her pride was stronger, so she wasn't going to go down like this. _"Force me, then."_

Jacob seemed a bit tired, or bored even, but he wasn't planning on giving her a second chance to change her mind. He was fast, so incredibly fast she almost gasped, before his scarred hand closed around her neck and pushed her head even more into the window frame, to the point where her hair weren't good enough to shield her from it's hardness. She gritted her teeth and raised her lip a little, in a feral tic, flashing a few teeth at him. _"Whatever you say, Dep."_ He said hoarsely, and while she couldn't really focus on John right now she was sure he was glad to look at all of this - even though he was bleeding and sitting on the table, slowly starting to freeze without any shirt on him. _"Now. Where is it?"_ Jacob asked, while still clenching his hand on her throat. At this point she was truly starting to have trouble with breathing, and a first bits of adrenaline started to kick in and her pupils dilated significantly, almost completely obscuring the light brown iris. But she kept silent, with cold expression on her face, like almost _daring_ him to go further than that. She stared into his eyes, a piercing blue, until she actually saw a glimpse of her own face in them.  
  
If Irina had a more artistic soul with a tendecy to make metaphors, she would say that this is a sign, a symbol of how similar they both were.  
  
 _"Oh for fuck's sake, get a room."_ John growled with a bit of something weird, something off - _jealousy?_ \- and then tossed the cigarettes to her, and she managed to catch them while not breaking an eye contact with Jacob, and then she smiled cynically, pointing her head to the second chair where she left her jacket.

 _"You're welcome."_ She rasped calmly, barely able to breathe. Jacob's hand left her throat and she stroked it with her own fingers, narrowing her eyes and taking a deeper breath - but not loud enough to actually show how hard those last few seconds were for her. Well, she asked for it, didn't she?

Jacob came over to the chair on the other side of the room and took a half empty bottle of whiskey from under her jacket, then came over to his brother. _"Alright, lay down."_ He said, patting his shoulder. His voice was a tiniest bit different when he was talking to John - he really must've cared, she realized. It was weird to her because she never had any siblings, but Deputy guessed that this is how the love between two brothers looked like. For a short second she felt jealous, but ignored it and returned to staring at the window, just hoping that they would finish this soon and get out of here.

 _Well, part of her wished they stayed.  
  
_ The silence, onece again, was to be short lived - John growled, nearly screamed, when his brother poured the alcohol into his wound while pinning his shoulder to the table, holding him in place. _"Oh come on, don't be a pussy."_ Jacob huffed and Irina actually giggled a little - thank God they didn't notice, or maybe just didn't care.

_"Yeah, because you would- **FUCK** -stay silent during something like this!" _Was John's irritated response and he raised his head to look at what Jacob was doing.

 _"Of course I would."_ Jacob mused, then patted his brother's forehead. _"Keep your head down, will ya'? You're really not helping."_ He put the whiskey bottle - with quite a bit of fluid still left in it - on the counter behind him and fuck, Irina realized she's thirsty, and that this is the only source of anything to drink right now. She gulped and then slowly and quietly stand up, trying to sneak behind Jacob and take the bottle, then hurriedly get back to the chair where she belonged. And maybe twist the knife in his leg? No, that would be impossible, even if it was tempting.

Irina wouldn't do it ~~because she cared about him, somehow. About both of them.  
  
~~ She slowly came closer, focused on the bottle and she was so, so close, but then Jacob knelt down and took the bottle, almost snatching it from her fingers and giving it to John, who was looking really... Bad. He was quite pale at this point, his hair. scalp, beard and whole body were covered in sweat, lips parted like he was struggling to breathe. Irina looked at him in silence and she realized that she was simply staring, so just hissed and turned around, trying to get back to her chair and keep sitting there in silence. She was just hoping that John was so much beaten up by the pain that he didn't notice her staring from few seconds before.

 _"C'mere, Dep."_ She heard Jacob and cursed under her breath, slowly turning on her heel, her eyes watching him with unspoken question. _"Keep him pinned down, I have to put the bullet out of his wound."_

Irina just stood there, confused, and blinked a few times. _"... You want me to stop him from moving."_

_"Yes."_ He stated, matter-of-factly, not even looking at her, focused on preparing everything he needed to get started.  
  
_"And you're not... I don't know, **afraid** that I would try to stab him in the process? Whatever?"_ Deputy kept asking, not daring to move, shooting a quick glace over to John, who was taking a sip from the whiskey bottle. Her throat became even more sore at the mere sight. She gulped and _oh fuck_ , he was looking straight at her, his eyes narrowed, his gaze tired, but lips curled in that mocking smile of his. _Oh fuck you John, sincerely, fuck you.  
  
"You wouldn't dare."_ Jacob looked at her for a short moment, his eyes sharp like knives - and yes, he was right. She bit her lip, rolling the sleeves on his military jacket once again, then slowly came over to the other side of the table, but still not close enough for John to reach her, in case he tried to do so for some reason. He was touchy, she knew it.  
  
_"Do you want to keep him pinned down with your willpower, or will you stop being all blushy and do what you're supposed to?"_ The soldier sighed and she sensed the first bits of irritation in his voice, like if he was a poor old man forced to take care of two stupid kids. And goddamn, this seemed exactly like it, she realized. _"Trust me, he won't bite."  
  
"Oh, what makes you so sure?..." _John mused, finishing the bottle of whiskey with another sip and swayed slightly, putting it down on the floor. _"I might bite, but not too hard, don't worry."  
  
_ The bastard smiled, wet hair sticking to his face, and Irina never wanted to punch him in those perfect, white teeth of his more than now. _"Christ, fuck it."_ She murmured and then decided to just be harsh and professional. Everything will be fine, it will only take a couple minutes, maybe even less, then you can go home. Her fingers touched his shoulder and his back collided harshly with the wooden table beneath. The soft "ow" came out from his lips and she felt that sting of pure satisfaction, which was definitely visible in her eyes. _Yeah, you won't be such a cheeky bastard now._

Jacob dipped the penknife in John's wound and _damn it_ , Irina had the feeling that the scream that was starting to come out of his throat would reach beyond the county limits, so instinctively - and quite violently - she put one hand to his face to silence him. His beard was moist with sweat and irritated the skin on the inside of her hand, but she tried to ignore it. _Be professional, don't say anything, don't look at him, just look at Jacob's hands. And keep this bastard down... **OH FUCK!  
  
**_She didn't realize that she actually hissed those last two words out loud, but she doubt she could be blamed - because when Jacob was starting to get the bullet out of his brother's body, John's teeth dugged in her finger. Irina growled and did her best not to hit him in the face, looking at Jacob instead, the feeling of betrayal clear on her face. _"You said he wouldn't bite, you fucking liar!"_ She knew how stupid and childlish it sounded, but was too irritated to really care.  
  
_"Well, to be exact he said he actually would, so I didn't lie. It was just a miscalculation."_ Jacob didn't even look at her, focused on his job, but she could swear he smiled.

 _"Fuck you. Both of you. I'm fucking done."_  
  
 _"What's about you and fuckin'? Your preferences are showing."_ He responded and in this moment, she went speechles and felt John starting to chuckle, blocked by her hand, so she dug her nails into his cheek. He almost seemed to enjoy it, enjoy her frustration and the fact that Jacob was winning in almost every argument, every sentence. She didn't respond, because the only thing that came to her mind was another _"fuck you"_ , but somehow it didn't really feel like it would help. _Stay quiet, get over with it and get out._

It took him a way longer than she would hope for, but finally Jacob managed to pull the bullet out of his brother's stomach, applied some stitches and oh damn, she could finally leave the table and get back to her chair. She slumped onto it and sighed, closing her eyes. This was _not_ how she wanted to spend this afternoon. Jacob got rid of everything and John managed to slowly lift himself up and looked around. _"Where's my shirt?"_ He asked, narrowing his eyes. _"Jaco--"_ He didn't managed to finish before his brother tossed the blue and still covered in blood shirt to him. _"Yeah, thanks, brother."  
  
"You're always welcome." _ Jacob answered and leaned on the kitchen counter. If it could be even called a kitchen, this cabin had just one room. _"My jacket, Dep. I know you've probably grown fond of it, but it's mine."  
_  
Irina just scoffed and a bit reluctantly - because damn, she actually did grow fond of it in those last few minutes - took it off and gave it back to it's owner. She felt at unease - _of course_ someone was staring at her. She did her best not to look back at John, just focus on the silence currently lingering in the air. If only not the fact that he was breathing _so fucking loud and she was losing her mind-  
  
"Deeeputy?" _He nearly sing-a-songed and she clenched her jaw, feeling the scar on her cheek tense. Irina sighed and looked at him, waiting for bastard to continue. _"Oh, there you are. Such a frustrated little thing."_ He chuckled darkly, then shook his head and looked at the ceiling. _"Sweet."  
  
_ She wasn't sure if he actually said that, it was so quietly spoken that she told to herself it was just an illusion.  
  
_"Who needs a room now, huh?"_ Jacob mused. _"Well, put the shirt on, we're leavin' before she will start throwing things at us, and I see she's close to doing so."_

_"Very close, indeed."_ She murmured through gritted teeth. John clicked his tongue once again and she took a sharp breath, but didn't say anything else, just watched him getting dressed - he was quite clumsy at it, and Irina was looking at him purely because she wanted him to feel watched, feel the frustration when someone is making fun of him. She wasn't sure if it actually worked, though.  
  
 _"Alright, let's get movin'. See you around, Dep."_ Jacob didn't even look at her anymore but she heard the dangerous promise, the silent threat in his voice and she was already on edge, feeling the sudden need to run away as far as she can, preferably somewhere outside this god forsaken county. Irina watched as John clumsily stood on his own feet, then Jacob opened the door to the cabin, waiting for him. 

John looked at her one more time and something flashed in his eyes, and without a word he left with his older brother, both leaving her alone.  
  
Irina just slumped on the floor and let out a loud, nervous gasp, feeling the fire slowly rising in the bottom of the stomach.


End file.
